September 19–21, 2019

Two men stand side-by-side inside a locker room. The tension between them is palpable. This is theater, but there’s very little dialogue, just the sound of their bodies and the found noises of a portable radio. Instead, we are drawn into their primal language, a physical communication which intensifies throughout the show.

Mining multiple expressive forms—dance, athletic competition, clowning, martial arts, acrobatics, body percussion, mime, cockfighting, and more—Un Poyo Rojo probes the boundaries of bodily and spiritual interaction between individuals. It’s a provocation, an invitation for us to laugh at ourselves and, at the same time, to accept ourselves entirely.

The performance on September 21 at 8pm will be Audio Described for patrons who are blind or have low vision.

“A joyful, brilliantly funny dance parody of macho peacocking.” The Stage (UK)

“We practiced a lot of sports, we learned different styles and techniques of dance, music, and theater. We had to put everything we learned and experienced on stage. It’s our nature.” Hermes Gaido, director

$35 general
$15 students/25-and-under
$2 FringeACCESS
Member discounts available
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60 minutes

Artistic direction Hermes Gaido With Nicolás Poggi, Luciano Rosso, a portable radio Choreography Luciano Rosso and Nicolás Poggi Production Jonathan Zak and Maxime Seuge

Photos by Ishka Michocka (featured), Alejandro Ferrer (above), Paola Evelina (below)

Festival Star Producers Hank, Calder & Cole McNeil

Contextual Programming

Un Poyo Rojo: Live Podcast Recording

Sept 20 at 4pm at the Fringe Festival Bookstore at Cherry Street Pier

Luciano Rosso and Nicolás Poggi (Un Poyo Rojo), moderated by Zach Blackwood (FringeArts)

About Un Poyo Rojo

Un Poyo Rojo was founded in Argentina in 2008, and has been performed to sold-out audiences throughout the country. The show set out to conquer Latin America and Europe in 2015 as it began its first world tour. The play is performed by Nicolás Poggi and Luciano Rosso, two multi-talented dancers, actors and choreographers. Trained in five types of dances, Luciano Rosso is a true star in his native country. His YouTube channel, filled with lip synch videos, has millions of views. Nicolás Poggi is a dancer, choreographer and teacher, and currently working in México, interested in the plastic and scenic perspectives of the body. The piece is directed by Hermes Gaido, a top stage director and graduate of the Buenos Aires Art Academy.

Brief History of Un Poyo Rojo

Un Poyo Rojo started in 2008 when two performers were creating an act for a variety show in the Centro Cultural Laboratorio in Buenos Aires. Its initial creators, Luciano Rosso and Nicolás Poggi put together a duet with small comic touches in order to find ways within movement to show different relationships between two men, using elements of dance and also theater.

This duet came out of different movement proposals which mixed high impact contemporary partner work with duo sequences. After presenting the piece for the first time, the opportunity came up to perform the piece in many other spaces in the city of Buenos Aires. In April 2008, they were selected to participate in the “Ciudanza” festival which takes place in urban spaces around the city and with the collaboration of Hermes Gaido, the current director of the company, they recreated the piece.

In April 2010, they debuted a 45 minute long piece in the Espacio Cultural Pata de Ganso in Buenos Aires and received a highly positive reaction from the audience. Then with the full-length version of the play, they were selected by Spain’s Network of Alternative Theatres to tour three cities (Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia) as part of the Network’s 1st Latin American Circuit during the month of November in 2010. In 2011 they resumed performances in Buenos Aires with Alfonso Barón replacing Poggi, completing three sell-out seasons and continuing to tour various provinces in Argentina during 2012 and 2013. The show has now been running for more than ten years, with more than 2,000 performances, and for this performance, Nicolás Poggi returns to the stage.

FringeArts interview with director Hermes Gaido

FringeArts: How would you translate “Un Poyo Rojo” into English? Are there hidden meanings beyond the literal translation?

Hermes Gaido: The title literally translates as “a red rooster,” but it is also a play on the surnames Rosso and Poggi, the first performers. After choosing the name, we incorporated cockfights into the piece. You’ll have to watch it to see the relationship between the name and the performance.

FringeArts: What would you like the audience to take away from the performance?

Hermes Gaido: We would like people to leave the venue wanting to do things. People come out to see it and tell us that they want to dance, or create a play, or have sex with their partner, or go back to see cartoons. We like that people leave moved in some way or another because everyone sees and interprets different things when they see the piece.

Excerpt. Read the full interview on the FringeArts blog.